Blue Heron Bridge Trolls III

[Scuba_Jenny]

That stingray has a lot of friends. Last week it was a yellow jack..

 

[Catito]

Went to the bridge for diving today. Arrived at 0806 for an 0837 high tide. The park was uncrowded. Entered the water at 0828, sea temp @ 77f, visibility was 40 feet. Observed 3 Crested Pipefish and 5 Shortfin Pipefish. When I first observed a Crested Pipefish last May with two dive buddies, they only appeared in the database 6 times, so I thought they were very rare. But now that I am observing multiple individuals, 2 yesterday, 3 today, so it seems far less rare than I thought. Did a REEF fish count 71 species in 70 minutes. Respectively, Emperor Helmet, Long Snout Seahorse, Shortfin Pipefish, and Bar Jack Shadow hunting with a Southern Stingray.View attachment 698784View attachment 698785View attachment 698786

Super cool. Cannot locate those elusive sea horses!

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

They are everywhere and no where. I have found them out in the grass, on pilings, on soft corals, out in the open, east side, west side, south, on boats, ropes, and none of those places the next time..

 

[PBcatfish]

They are everywhere and no where. I have found them out in the grass, on pilings, on soft corals, out in the open, east side, west side, south, on boats, ropes, and none of those places the next time..

What is the range of size in the sea horses that you find there?

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

the smallest I ever found if stretched out, maybe 2". That would make it only an inch high if upright and tail wrapped around something. Biggest closer to 7 or 8".
The other thing, is they are not always out in the open, and they are remarkably good at blending in with their surroundings.
When looking at the photos, consider how tall that grass is.. (photos taken about 5 years ago)

this one is really little

 

[PBcatfish]

The ones I have found there have all been on the smaller end of what you describe. I've not found one bigger than 2" curled.

 

[Pipehorse]

I thought it would be possible to do this all in one post, but it is too much information, it will be posted over several days (besides to much will just bore everybody to tears). I wanted to do a breakdown of how many REEF fish surveys were done and species were recorded for last year. But being an over zealous fish geek, I went all the way back to when the first REEF surveys were ever completed for BHB, and when I completed my first surveys at BHB.

The first REEF fish survey at BHB was on 5/24/1998. I did my first survey at BHB on 2/29/2000, and another the following day. Even thought the first survey had been completed twenty months prior only a total of four surveys had been completed prior to me completing my first. So I did original surveys #5 and #6, I had no idea until I searched this out tonight. The first four surveys yielded a total of 100 species, I added 5 more on 2/29/20 and 3 more the next day. Respectively, Blue Runner, Gold Spot Goby, Molly Miller, Sheepshead, Smallmouth Grunt, Cocoa Damselfish, Polka-dot Batfish, and Saddled Blenny.

Here are the total stats from the first survey until today. It is self explanatory. The only explanation needed is that the first two columns labeled SF and Den on the "Species" table is a weighted average of expert SF and Den with novice SF and Den. Since there are a total of 452 species, the rank column of the "Species" table will go all the way to 452 when searched on the REEF database, I cut it off for brevity. Tomorrow I will post only my results since 2/29/2000 and then post total results plus my results for 2021.

Region: TWA​

Geographic Zones: Blue Heron Bridge (WPB) Phil Foster Park​

Dates: 5/24/98 - 1/3/22​

Total Surveys: 2083​

#Species Reported: 452​

Average Species Reported on a Survey by Expert Surveyors: 50.67​

Average Species Reported on a Survey by Novice Surveyors: 35.20​

Survey Type: SA = Species & Abundance; SO = Species Only - How to interpret REEF data?

Code	Name	SA	SO	SA	SO	(H:M)
		Expert	Expert	Novice	Novice
33010059	Blue Heron Bridge (WPB) Phil Foster Park	1623	32	405	23	2624:32

Species​

%SF = Sighting Frequency; DEN = Density Score - How to interpret REEF data?
Click a column header to sort by that column. Hold shift and click to sort by multiple columns

	Total	Expert	Novice
Rank	Species ID	Species	Family	SF%	DEN	SF%	DEN	SF%	DEN
1	0052	Sergeant Major, (Abudefduf saxatilis)	Damselfish, (Pomacentridae)	89.92	3.12	91.9	3.13	82.24	3.04
2	0111	Porkfish, (Anisotremus virginicus)	Grunt, (Haemulidae)	85.89	2.72	87.19	2.76	80.84	2.57
3	0108	French Grunt, (Haemulon flavolineatum)	Grunt, (Haemulidae)	85.6	3.14	88.88	3.18	72.9	2.94

 

[Pipehorse]

They are everywhere and no where. I have found them out in the grass, on pilings, on soft corals, out in the open, east side, west side, south, on boats, ropes, and none of those places the next time..

I agree with what Jenny says here for the most part, however on occasion seahorses do display a high degree of philopatry. Recall the brown hulled sailboat that was moored on the west side. Just below it near the mooring lines, is an old tire (it is still there). There was what I believe to be a mated pair of seahorses there for a couple months, they finally disappeared after what ever hurricane came through back then.

 

[jeffsky29]

Amazing detail! I am sure it was many, many, many hours of work not only wet under the water, but dry in front of your computer. Well done!

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

Funny I heard about that pair, hunted them multiple times and never found them... and the pipehorse. Never did find them either. Though one time I did a dive, and after changing clothes walked out to one of the bridge supports. Standing there talking to a friend we look down and count 7 pipehorses hanging on some sargassum... at the time I thought they were small seahorses, but later looking through the REEF book realized they were pipehorses!!!!!! Of course I did not have a camera.....

A yellow seahorse I found a few weeks ago on the east side looks very similar to one recently found on the west side.